Our Story

Culantro Peruvian Cookery started as a fast-casual spot on King William St. in Hamilton, Ontario’s Arts & Business district in 2013, but we now have a full-service restaurant and bar at 537 Main St E.

We focus on preparing Peruvian food in-house from treasured family recipes. Our aim is to turn our customers into raving fans by serving uniquely delicious yet approachable food at affordable prices – in the friendliest and cleanest setting we can manage.

Our History

Chef/Owner Juan Castillo grew up in a food-loving family in Lima, Peru and migrated to San Francisco in his teenage years, where he had the opportunity to apprentice under the direction of some amazing chefs.

Eventually Juan’s entire immediate family gathered in California, and went on to establish the Limon Rotisserie restaurants in San Francisco and Fresno.

Juan’s path diverged when he met a Canadian girl temporarily working as a consultant in California, and was whisked away to her hometown – Hamilton, Ontario – where he has settled in the North End with his wife and now 5 year old daughter. Juan feels at home in the newly-vibrant arts & business district of Hamilton, as it harkens back to the energy of a 1990s San Francisco.

At Culantro we believe travel improves people.

Our Products

Food, however, is better when it stays close to where it was raised. We are committed to sourcing our food locally whenever possible.

There are, however, certain products that we need to source from Peru, because they are integral to providing the unique flavour experience of Peruvian cuisine and are not readily available in Canada – for example, our uniquely-Peruvian aji peppers, our huacatay herb and the purple corn we boil into our Chicha Morada.